Door hanger



C. LLOYD DOOR HANGER Sept. 27, 1949.

2 Sheets-Sheet i Filed April 16, 1946 n @i E 57 JNVENTOR. Claire Lloyd.

Sept. 27, 1949. c. LLOYD 2,432,355

DOOR HANGER Filed April 16, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Gli'i'ormeg Patented Sept. 27, 1949 Claire Libya,

noon HANGER i West Palm Beach,*Fla.,'asslgnor to Harkiso Corporation, Palm, Beach, Fla., a :cor-

. poration of Florida I Application April 16, 1946, Serial p 14 Claims. (01.16-89) This invention relates to. hangers for sliding doors, and more'particula'rly to a novel twoa-part construction which lends I itselfto convenient manufacturing practices, thereby making possible quantity production, and which is easily and readily assembled and installed ona trackvand door.

I One of the objects of the invention is to provide a door hanger assembly including a rollerv bracket having a keeper opening 'and an at taching plate carried by the doorisaid plate being provided with a spring-actuated latch for .releasably engaging the keeper opening in sucha way that the bracket and plate may be. readily engaged to prevent accidental-displacement in use and, which, on the other handpmaybe readily separated when desired, for therepair or re-. placement of parts,v or to remove the door;

Another object is to provide a hanger assembly which although removable, when required,

will not jump the track: when in use,.and which will not bind upon relative sliding movement between the. door and the track..

A further object is to provide a novel track hanger rail which is easilyv installed ;'.strong,.and

durable in .use and which can be made of ap-' propriate metals, including. the lighter metals now available, without sacrificing strengthor stability, while, at the same time, permitting the roller bracket to be readily fitted thereto, after the track is installed, and, which in service, prevents the rollers from jumping the track.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of. the 1 invention is better understood, thel same'consists in the novel construction, combination and.

arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed. I: s I A preferredpand practical .embodiment of the invention is shown-in the accompanying drawings, in which: I

Figure I is a partial side elevation of a'door installation embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is track; 1 Figure 3 is a perspective view of the; roller bracket and attaching plate-separated to Figure 4 is a vertical cross-sectional viewtak-en on the line 4,-4 of Figure 1.;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figural showin a modification of .theiinvention. I I I Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2;showing a portion of the Itrackito Lone sideof; the point where the rollers are interfittedgtherewith.

a detail perspective View ofthe illustrate the mode of interconnectiom I I purpose of, which will presently appear.

Noiesassg I I lf 2 I Figure 7 is a' vie'w similar to Figure 3 of a modified form oi the invention; v r 5 I Figure .8 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the parts shown in Figure 7, in their connect-ed relation. 1 I I Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings. I

Referring to Figure lit will be observed that the track is designated generally as A while the.

hanger assemblies B slidably support and carry adoorC. o

The track .A is preferably in the general form of a channel made ofiappropriate metaland includes a web portion a, an upperangular guard flange band a bottom: rollerreceiving channel or groove c. :The downturned' portion of the guardfiange is provided with a notch 12', the The bottom of theweb a, is .also provided in the zone of the groove or channel 0 with a laterally offset securin'gportion d opposite the channel having openings therein to receive screws or other fastenings d for, securing the: track to the framework- This securing portion serves to reinforce and balance the cross-sectional metal distribution ofthe entire -track element, so as to make.

it of maximum strength where the load is supported by the fasteners Id. The outer bevelled face of the securing portion also makes is pos-' sible to insure that the-screws are toed in at the proper angle relative to the web a which acts as a beam, and, -,moreover, the: screw positionsare readily accessible to a mechanic for installation.

, As, will also beobserved from Figure 2 the outer edge of the groove or channel 0 is provided-with a cut-away portion or notch e which cooperates with the notch 17- of the guard flange to permit of inserting rollers of the. door hanger assembly in the channel after the guard flange bhas been secured to the, top of the doorway. These notches are necessary because the distance be- I tween the lower free edge of the guard flange b and the upper edge of the roller receiving groove cisless thanthe diameter of therollers. Thus, when the rollers are confined between the angular guardflange b and the groove c they cannot accidentally jump thetrack.

Referringfirst to the'form of door hanger unit B shown in Figures 3 land 4, it will be observed that the-same. includes a roller bracket I having an upright wall portion 2 of uniform width and provided at its upper end with an axlestud 3 for carrying a roller 4.- This roller ispreferably made r of vulcanized fibre or the like to insure quiet acthe flange 1 are preferably bevelled or chamfered,

as indicated at 8 to facilitate engagement ofthe flange I with the attaching plate, as will present The flange 'I isalsopr'ov-ided with-a keeper opening 9, therebyproviding the roller 1y appear.

bracket with an opening which constitutes a part of cooperating means on the bracket and attaching plate for releasably locking the same together.

The attaching plate i0, carried by the upper edge of the'door' C, is preferably in the form of an elongated metal strip having the medial portion thereof upwardly arched as indicated at H with respect. to the coplanar ends l2 which are secured to the door by screws or other fastenings Hi. This arrangement, relative to the top edge of thedoor, provides in effect .a pocket for receiving the flange 1 of the bracket. One edgeof the arched: portion I t is recessed. inwardly of the plane of the outer edges of the ends l2.as indi cated at H so thatthe resulting inner corners of the attaching foot portions or ends 12 serve to guide the flat tongue or supporting. flange E into the pocket. The upper or outer face of the arched:

portion ll' isprovided with a flat spring l4 which carries a latching element or stud I5 projecting through an opening ii in the arched portion ll, thereby to. engage the keeperopening 9' of the hanger bracket when the flange 1 thereof is inserted 'into the aforesaid pocket. The lower-end ll: of the latching stud ispreferably bevelled toward the side of the attaching plat which receives the flange 1 to facilitate automatic interengagement of the roller bracket and attaching plate. It will thus be-seen that when the flange of the roller bracket is moved into the pocket the.

roller bracket and attaching plate are automatically interengaged, and, if it subsequently becomes necessary to separate the bracket and plate it is only necessary to insert an appropriate implement between the underside of the flat spring M and the upper face of the archedportion Il and lift the latching stud l5 sufficiently to clearthe opening 9. 1 i

Referring to the form of hanger assembly shown in Figures 7 and 8 and designated generally as B it will be observed that the same includes primary elements similar to those found in the form shown in Figures 3 and 4.- Thatis to say, the hanger assembly B'lncludes a roller bracket having a vertical wall portion I8 provided with an axle stud 19 for receiving a roller 20, while the lower end of the wall I8 is laterally offset at 29 to provide a supporting tongue or flange which cooperates with the attaching plate. The wall portion I8 of the roller bracket is provided with a keeper opening 2| intended to cooperate with spring-actuated keeper means on the attaching plate. As will be seen from Figure 7 the attaching plate 22 is of intermediate arched. formation having the co-planar foot portions 23 which may be secured to the upper edge of the door by screws or other fastenings 24. The: arched configurationof the attaching plate 22 cooperates with the upper edge of the door to 4 provide in effect a pocket for receiving the offset flange 29 of the roller bracket.

The upper or outer face of the arched portion of the attaching plate 22 carries a spring keeper or latch 25 disposed generally transversely of the attaching plate and secured in this position by suitable rivets 26 at one end thereof. The opposite end of therlatch elementfl is deformed into substantially transversely troughed or V-shaped formation, as indicated at 21, so that its inner portion 28 provides a locking shoulder when the free. end of the latch moves into the keeper opening 2 l of the roller bracket. Thus, it will be seen that the interengagement of the roller bracket and the attaching plate is effected by simply movingthe tongue or flange 29 of the roller bracket into the pocket formed by the arched portion of the attaching plate and the upper edge of the door until the latch portion 21 passes through the keeper opening 2!. When it is desired to separate the hanger assembly, it is. only necessary to lift the free end 21' of. thelatch element. with the aid of the thumbon finger, or a suitable tool, if required, thereby to effect the desired disengagement..

From the foregoing it willv be apparent that both forms of the invention provide simpleand practical means for slidably-mounting a. door in an overhead track. In practice the track element Ais. installed irrthe doorway and the bracket and attaching plate of' the hanger assembly are separated. The attaching plates are secured to the upper edge of thedoor' in the desired locations. The. roller brackets are then mountedv on the'track by simply insertingrthe rollers 4 or 20 into the channel c ofthe track at the point of the'cut-away portion-or notch. e in the outer edge of the groove; A-fterthe hanger brackets are inserted in the groove 0- they may be shifted along the track to the locations of the attaching plates andthe ofiset flanges of the respective roller brackets may 'then be moved into the. pockets formed by the attaching plates with respect to the door. The sprin'g'locking or latching means automatically and effectively holds the .roller bracket and attached plate. assembled until it is desired. to manually effect their separation in th manner heretofore described.

Moreover, while the supporting flange or tongue of the roller carrying bracket flts relatively snugly in the pocket of the attaching plate so that there is no rattle or vibration, nevertheless there is sufficient play between the bracket and the attachingplate to permit slight swivel action desirable to "prevent binding of the roller in the track. The benefit accruing from this swivel action is that should the attaching plates be not fixed on the door parallel to the sides of the door, then the'wheelv might'bind in the track groove. By allowing hanger B to swivel slightly, the binding action Will not take place due to the fact that as soon as the wheel binds sufflciently, it will align itself properly with the groove, and will remain thus properly aligned, as the groove will thereafter hold and guide the roller in the track. feature, together with the spring latch and keeper means has been found to provide very satisfactory means for connecting the two parts of the hanger assembly.

It is of course understood that changes in the form and proportion may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A door hanger c prisinga roller carrying bracket having anopening, an attaching plate with means to secure same to a door and including means to engage a part of said bracket, and resiliently yieldable means carried by said plate and insertible in said bracket opening to hold said bracket to said plate.

2. A door hanger comprising a roller carrying bracket including. a normally horizontal part having an opening, an attaching plate with means to secure same to a door and includin means to support said horizontal bracket part, and resiliently yieldable means carried by said .plate and insertible in said bracket opening to hold said bracket to said plate.

3. A door hanger comprising a roller carrying bracket including a normally vertical pant having an opening, an attaching plate with means to secure same to a door and including means to support said vertical bracket part, and resiliently yieldable means carried by said plate and insertible in said bracket opening to hold said bracket to said plate.

4. A door hangercomprising abracket carrying a roller, said bracket having an aperture therethrough, an attachingplate adapted to be engaged with said bracket with means for securing said plate to a door, a member extending into said aperture for holding said plate to said bracket and resiliently yieldable means for holding said member in said aperture.

5. A door hanger-comprising a bracket carrying a roller, said bracket having 'an aperture therethrough, an attaching plate adapted to be engaged with said bracket with means for-securing said plate to a door, a member removably extending into said aperture for holding said plate to said bracket and resiliently yieldable means for holding said member in said aperture.

6. A door hanger comprising a bracket carrying a roller, said bracket having an aperture therethrough, an attaching plate adapted to be engaged with said bracket with means for securing said plate to a door and resiliently yieldable means secured to said plate having a member extending into said aperture for holding said plate to said bracket.

7. A door hanger comprising a bracket carrying a roller, said bracket having a normally horizontal portion, said portion having an aperture therethrough, an attaching plate adapted to be engaged with said bracket with means for securing said plate to a door, a member extending to said aperture for holding said plate to said bracket and resiliently yieldable means for holding said member in said aperture.

8. A door hanger comprising a bracket carrying a roller, said bracket having a normally vertical portion, said portion having an aperture therethrough, an attaching plate adapted to be engaged with said bracket with means for securing said plate to a door, and means secured to said plate having a member extending into said aperture for holding said plate to said bracket.

9. A door hanger comprising a bracket carrying a roller, said bracket having an aperture therethrough, an attaching plate adapted to be engaged with said bracket, said plate having an aperture threrethrough adapted to register with the aperture of said bracket, means for securing said plate to a door, a member extending into said apertures in registry and resiliently yieldable means for holding said member in said apertures.

10. A door hanger comprising a bracket carrytherethrough, an attaching plate adapted to be engaged with said bracket, said plate having an aperture therethrough adapted to register with the aperture of said bracket, means for securing said plate to a door, a member engaged with aperture'in said plate and removably extending into the aperture in said bracket when said apertures are in registry and resiliently yieldable means for holding said member in said apertures.

11. A door hanger comprising a bracket carrying a roller, said bracket having an aperture therethrough, an attaching plate adapted to be engaged with said bracket, said plate having an aperture therethrough adapted to register with the aperture of said bracket, means for securing said plate to a door and a resilient strip secured to said plate having a member protruding through the aperture of said plate and extending into the bracket aperture.

12. A door hanger comprising a bracket carrying a roller, said bracket having an aperture therethrough, an attaching plate adapted to be engaged with said bracket, said plate having an aperture therethrough adapted to register with the aperture of said bracket, means for securing said plate to a door and a resilient strip secured to said plate having a pin protruding through the aperture of said plate and extending into the aperture of the bracket.

13. In a door hanger construction including the combination of a track, a bracket carrying a roller for engagement with said track, and a plate for attachment to said bracket and a door, the improvement wherein the bracket is provided with an aperture and said plate is provided with a member extending into said aperture so as to secure the plate and bracket together in attached position and resiliently yieldable means for holding said member in said aperture.

14. A track for a door hanger construction comprising a normally vertical web having on one side an inverted channel-like guard at its upper end and on the same side a groove facing the guard at its lower end, a flanged portion extending diagonally from the web adapted to abut and be secured to a complementary supporting surface.

CLAIRE LLOYD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Jan. 29, 1931 

